The present invention is directed to bicycles and, more particularly, to bicycle control apparatus.
Many electrical devices may be mounted to bicycles for various purposes. For example, simple cycle computers may be mounted to the bicycle to display riding and other parameters. More advanced cycle computers may be used to control the operation of various bicycle components. For example, a bicycle transmission or suspension system may be electrically controlled by manual or automatic operation. In manual adjustment of the transmission or suspension, the rider manipulates a switch in the form of a lever or button to set the bicycle transmission to a desired gear ratio or to set the suspension system to a desired stiffness. In automatic operation of the bicycle transmission, the wheel or crank speed is measured, and the bicycle transmission is set automatically to a desired gear ratio to maintain the wheel or crank speed within a desired range. In automatic operation of the suspension system, suspension stiffness is adjusted based on wheel speed, wherein suspension stiffness ordinarily is increased at higher wheel speeds.
As the number of functions performed by the cycle computer increases, the number of electronic components that must be attached to the bicycle correspondingly increases. For example, manual input devices such as control buttons and levers must be mounted to the handlebar or to some other location for convenient access by the rider. Sensors used for measuring different operating parameters must be mounted to the input devices and to the wheel, crank, transmission, suspension, etc. Motors, solenoids and other drive devices must be mounted to the transmission, suspension and other controlled devices to move the controlled devices to the proper operating position. The control electronics and power source also must be mounted at appropriate locations.
Of course, all of the various components must be connected together through appropriate wiring. Conventionally, all of the components were manufactured permanently wired together. The disadvantage of prewired components is the inability to accommodate the different functions desired by different markets. For example, the input devices, sensors and control devices prewired into the system predetermine the capability of the system. Additional capabilities could not be added at a later date, and a malfunction in one component frequently rendered the entire system useless. Prewired components also cannot efficiently accommodate the vast number of different bicycle frame configurations. In some cases either a component could not be placed in a desired location, or else there was so much excess wire that the wire had to be bundled and arbitrarily taped or tied to the bicycle frame, thus resulting in an unsightly appearance.
One way to provide more flexibility is to use detachable connectors so that individual components may be detachably connected together. This allows replacement of a malfunctioning component, adjustment of wire lengths to accommodate the configuration of the bicycle frame, and adding or deleting components as desired. Conventionally, each component had its own unique connector. Thus, there would be one or more male and female connector per component, and components would have to be manufactured with the matching connector in mind. As a result, the total number of connectors could be very large, components from different manufacturers often could not be used together, and even the components from a single manufacturer were limited by the chosen configuration.